Send Three-and-Fourpence...

The last couple of weeks has been a blur, and with the wedding now only three weeks away, i'm not expecting much more out of the next few. Nonetheless, while preparations may be proceeding apace, I have managed to snatch a little time for gaming related things.

So, accordingly this update is a little brief, but hopefully does still hold some interest. Most of my painting time has been taken up by commission work, but i have managed to take some photos of a few odds and sods for my Sharp Practice project. For this year, i'm planning on painting up another three 10 man french groups of Line Infantry (incidentally making a 1:10-ish scale Line battalion), along with some Leger voltigeurs and chasseurs, and a limber set. Up against them, I'd like to finish off a few more Austrian 12 man groups, an artillery piece and limber, and perhaps some of the new Perry chevauxlegers. Add in some Bavarians and Wurttembergers, and I've set myself quite an ambitious target. 

Alongside the 1809 guys, i've also got the first of my Peninsular War British, an xmas pressie from Laura. In the metal (and plastic) mountain i've got a box of the perry Line infantry and some metal rifles, all to be painted up and organised into 8 man groups with accompanying Big Men. Laura also got me an excellent 28mm sloop, along with a load of the superb Paul Hicks sculpted Brigade Games Royal Navy jacktars. 

The French reinforcements

So them's the plans for Sharp Practice in 2013. I've also recently become the owner of a plethora of 1/300 scale WW2 aircraft (1939-40 RAF, Armee de l'Air and Luftwaffe mostly), a copy of both Check Your Six! and Bag The Hun 2, and an excellent european fields Hotz Mat. More on my BTH2 plans in future posts though, for now, on to the latest Sharp Practice French reinforcements.

First off, I've painted up the tete de colonne (the battalion command) of the 3e Regiment de Ligne. Comprising 1e and 2e portes-aigles (the eagle bearer and the halberd armed eagle guard), a drummer and grizzled sapper, this base is a complete redux. The first version went on eBay to help fund the purchase of Laura's engagement ring, so it's perhaps fitting to post these guys up a few weeks before the wedding. The uniforms for these guys are supposed to be for the 3e Regiment de Ligne, which served in St. Hilaire's  division of Marshal Davout's III Corps in 1809.

Next up, the first of four planned line infantry fusilier companies. After what was most likely far too much research into something so trivial, I've ended up not painting the 1st company pompoms in the usual vert fonce, but rather in the bleu-de-roi. The 2nd company will be the infamous orangey-brown aurore, 3rd violette, and 4th cramoisie, which i'm reliably informed is a purplish red. At the head of this company is a new big man, the dastardly Lt. Montalban. 

Lt. Montalban

Final lot for this update is another addition to the French leading cast, Lt. Lemoine along with his 4 pound cannon and crew. The gun and bits and pieces are all from Nic at Eureka, and are fabulous, crisp castings with excellent detail. I find the front rank cannon a bit clunky.


  

All these figures are Front Rank, which I know are often disparaged but I find quite charming. You might also notice the bridge, river sections and ford, all recent additions to my gaming terrain made with the excellent 'Magic Water' resin which, while having a steep learning curve, comes out a lot better than white glue or gloss varnish.

 

So that's it for now, next update will undoubtedly be regarding all Spitfires, Hurricanes and Messerschmitts as I embark on my first foray into aerial wargaming with Bag the Hun 2, so stay tuned!

Steady as she goes

This update is really more of a 'Work in Progress' piece than anything else. As i've mentioned previously, i've entered the 2011 project build over on The Guild forums, my particular project being centered around the Sword beach D-Day landings. The first task is due to be completed by 28th Feb. This is pretty convenient for me, as uni starts back on the 28th as well! Can't wait to get back into studying, and am especially looking forward to the 'French Revolution and Napoleon' subject, even if i do have to travel to Newcastle for it. :)

But back to painting and terrain modeling. My first task consists of two terrain boards, a building, a platoon of Germans and a subsection of Free French commandos, plus a few odds and ends. Well, with just over a week to go it's all looking pretty good, quite surprisingly. I've completed the excellent resin boulangerie model from lasermodellbau which Laur got me for my Birthday, as well as a 2cm flak and a couple of gorgeous AB miniatures command figures to use as my big men. Pics of these completed are below. I tried a new technique with the splinter camo, based on Piers' beaut tute over on the guild. I think it looks great, a lot more effective when viewing from a distance as well. I'll definitely be using this technique for the rest of my Jerries.

For the boulangerie, i spent the better part of a day on google images, right-clicking and saving as many 40s era french posters, family photos, newspapers and magazines as i could find. After a bit of rescaling and printing them out, i think they add a little something to the model. A great dolls house site provided the wonderfully terrible 30s/40s wallpaper. I'm quite happy with the result. The models themselves are great, and went together with only minimal fussing and sanding. I've got another two, the boucherie and a two storey house which will be going into the terrain board representing Ouistreham, along with a bunch of scratch built ruins. Now i just need to get my hands on some Frontline damaged furniture to provide the finishing touches.
Next on the list were the two command figures. I tried out a different, grey-er field grey recipe on the figure in the peaked cap. I'm happy with the result, and the next german section is also going to be this colour. I'm planning on mixing them in with the greener guys to give a nice mix. The sculpting on the AB stuff is simply superb, so lifelike. These two guys are Hauptmann Leo Mabhoffer, commander of the Riva-Bella strongpoint, and Leutnant Michael von Recke, a fictional commander who i'll probably end up using for a 21st Panzer force. I've also taken to painting the Big Man's name on the back of the base, just so they stand out a little more. While the Plastic Soldier figures will do for the rank-and-file, Some AB command figures along with some heavy weapons etc from Kellys Heroes should help add that je ne sais quoi to the force. I've also added some comparison pics showing both the PSC and the AB figures side by side. Aside from the superiority of the AB sculpts, any differences in scale or style are virtually indiscernible.

When painting was out of the questiond due to the heat wave, i decided to knuckle down and get some work done towards the project anyhow. IABSM and TW&T both use cards to activate units. I found a great template on the Toofatlardies yahoo group, and using this have built up almost a full deck. Below with the pictures i've got two pages out of the 10 i've completed. Oh, and i thought i might mention something which probably seems quite obvious, but as i had a couple of enquiries thought i'd best. If you click on the images you will be linked to lot larger, higher resolution version. All the better for seeing clavii, right. :)

I was terribly saddened to hear the news about the passing of Dave Hollins of Britannia fame just after the new year. In my dealings with Dave he was always a perfect gent, and he will be sorely missed. My final completed item is the superb little Britannia 2cm Flak 38, which will top the Casino strong-point. The Britannia figures were, as always, a joy to paint. I wasn't too sure about the colour of the waffenfarbe shoulder tab piping. I ended up going with red for artillery, figuring that army flak troops fall under this category. Besides, it sets them apart from the white of the infantry.

Now on to the terrain boards. I've finished the bunkers, covered them in polyfilla and scored in the shuttering marks before it was completely dry. Some ladders made from staples were also added. The trenches were lines with scored balsa, the steps were balsa too, and almost drove me insane. Still, i'm really happy with the results and can't wait to get some paint on them. I've also added some faux-fur grass, which was trimmed with a pair of hair clippers. I built up some mounds of earth on the terrain using bits of Styrofoam which i the covered with polyfilla. I also made a sloping beach on the second terrain board, and am going to add some obstacles made from bamboo skewers and toothpicks, plus eventually some dragons teeth obstacles which i'll made from blue foam.

The latest progress on this is covering all the earth or sand areas with watered down white glue and covering the lot with sand. Next step is painting, then it's done! I originally wanted to get the interiors done by the deadline, at least of the casino, but i'm not really liking my chances. Some of you may notice on the WIP pics below a landing craft. This is the Britannia LCI(S), or Landing Craft Infantry (Small), the landing craft used by Lovat's commandos on D-Day. This one was a nice surprise, a belated christmas pressie from Laur's brother and his girlfriend. I think it'll look great! Now i need to get some LCAs, just to add to the scene. :)
Anyhow, i'd best get back to it. All going well, i'll be able to post an update with the competed terrain, the 10.5cm gun and crew and a few more infantry by the 28th.

Wish me luck!